What's the social media strategy for your brokerage?

Jose Perez of PCMS Consulting says:

Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, blah, blah, BLEH!

Unfortunately, that is the general attitude of our industry when it comes to leveraging social media. It is a complete and total shame that our industry squanders one chance after another to embrace new ways of communicating with real estate consumers (email, the internet, and now social media.) How can we continue to ignore how our customers want to communicate with us?

Two important statistics that should be front and center for every broker and agent:

• 87% of consumers start their home search online; and,
• 41% of consumers still rely on personal referrals to make their choice.

Both of these stats underscore the importance of developing a social media strategy for your brokerage. Reaching out to consumers (instead of forcing them to come to you) generates revenue. If you can catch (and then engage) a consumer early in their online search, you position yourself and your agents as the brokerage that understands the needs of the modern consumer.

Furthermore, establishing yourself in the preferred social media channels of your consumers generates referral business. Your visibility in your clients' social media feeds becomes a tacit endorsement of your services – the very best type of referral!

If you don't embrace social media and implement a real communications strategy, someone else in your market is going to figure it out. Don't let that happen! Social media is not that complicated. It just requires focus and investment - like any other public relations, marketing, or advertising effort you freely invest in today.

Clients often ask us how to determine ROI in social media. Do you know your ROI on the leads you buy from Trulia, Zillow, and others? Do you know your ROI from billboards or real estate magazines? I am guessing you don't. It's important to remember that the costs to create your online brand, and to leverage social media correctly (internally or outsourced), will generate much more visibility and true engagement than traditional advertising.

A study by Syncapse helped quantify the Facebook fan versus non-fan value of multiple national brands. For example, the average McDonald's consumer represents an average of $160 in spending and "referrals" per year at their restaurants while a McDonald's Facebook fan represents almost twice that at $310 per year.

Why do socially engaged consumers create more value for your company?

• Brand loyalty: Loyal fans want to know what the brand is doing;
• Brand engagement: Loyal fans engage online with the brand; and,
• Brand referrals: Loyal fans want to tell their friends about it.

Can you imagine if you had a social media strategy that engaged your potential customers and agents in this way? How many new consumers might you secure? How many more tech-savvy and younger real estate agents might be drawn to your new approach?

Reaching out to consumers (instead of forcing them to come to you) demonstrates your brokerage can provide the value and support they want from their real estate transaction. It's time for real estate brokerages to get serious about social media.

• You must develop an actual strategy. Don't just throw up pictures of new listings or your office party. The online consumers are savvy and will not be engaged by random filler posts. Don't add noise; add value. Thoughtfully post information that is relevant and engaging to those you want to reach;
• You must create a social media policies and procedures manual for your managers, agents, and employees. It's imperative to maintain some level of control over the multiple voices consumers might hear from different people in your organization; and,
• Brokers, you must be willing to invest resources to drive your social strategy. Do you create an internal position, or do you outsource? Social media can be time consuming; for larger companies, it's a full-time position. Outsourcing is the option many brands choose; ensuring their brand is nurtured by experts who both understand the space and can craft a meaningful social media strategy for your brand.

A final note in this election year: how many messages have you gotten on Facebook and/or Twitter from the candidates? They are each putting their message out in an effort to engage you and win your vote just like you want to engage consumers and win their business.

Do you think they would be making this effort if social media didn't work?

The REinvent real estate blog series exposes brokerages and their agents to a variety of relevant topics that help them bring real change and innovation to their companies and markets. In today's market, rapidly changing consumer expectations are forcing real estate brokerages to adapt and create opportunity to increase profitability and market share. PCMS Consulting is committed to meeting these new expectations through innovation and positive change.